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[GH-ISSUE #1154] MacBook stuck on "barrier is starting" and can not connect to windows PC. #926

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opened 2026-05-05 07:17:20 -06:00 by gitea-mirror · 16 comments

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:20 -06:00

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Originally created by @chelan-athlanius on GitHub (May 2, 2021).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/1154

Describe the bug
When I try to connect my Mac as a client to my Windows 10 PC, it gets stuck on "barrier is starting" and will not connect. It works perfectly fine the other way around when my mac is the server, but that isn't helpful.
Screen Shot 2021-05-02 at 2 21 23 PM

Expected behavior
Mac connects to PC.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

OS: Mac to Windows
Barrier version [e.g 2.3.3]

Originally created by @chelan-athlanius on GitHub (May 2, 2021). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/1154 **Describe the bug** When I try to connect my Mac as a client to my Windows 10 PC, it gets stuck on "barrier is starting" and will not connect. It works perfectly fine the other way around when my mac is the server, but that isn't helpful. <img width="838" alt="Screen Shot 2021-05-02 at 2 21 23 PM" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/83434049/116824826-dfc71900-ab51-11eb-9e0e-bc9f0c0dbf54.png"> **Expected behavior** Mac connects to PC. **Desktop (please complete the following information):** - OS: Mac to Windows - Barrier version [e.g 2.3.3]

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:21 -06:00

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@mtuthill commented on GitHub (May 6, 2021):

I also get this issue

@mtuthill commented on GitHub (May 6, 2021): I also get this issue

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:23 -06:00

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@hdwatts commented on GitHub (May 7, 2021):

This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below).

[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2

I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully.

@hdwatts commented on GitHub (May 7, 2021): This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below). ``` [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32 [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3 [2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long [2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped [2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2 [2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user [2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2 ``` I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:25 -06:00

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@chelan-athlanius commented on GitHub (May 7, 2021):

Didn't work.

@chelan-athlanius commented on GitHub (May 7, 2021): Didn't work.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:27 -06:00

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@stipid commented on GitHub (May 23, 2021):

try to restart windows computer.

@stipid commented on GitHub (May 23, 2021): try to restart windows computer.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:30 -06:00

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@dianjiao03 commented on GitHub (Jun 22, 2021):

Same issue here, and none of the solutions seem to work.

@dianjiao03 commented on GitHub (Jun 22, 2021): Same issue here, and none of the solutions seem to work.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:33 -06:00

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@mhutchins commented on GitHub (Jul 12, 2021):

Same issue - however, restarting the windows PC (master) solved the issue for me.

@mhutchins commented on GitHub (Jul 12, 2021): Same issue - however, restarting the windows PC (master) solved the issue for me.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:34 -06:00

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@NuclearMonster commented on GitHub (Sep 1, 2021):

I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully.

I had this same issue, thanks for the workaround!

My console log was a little different, there was a hint:
[2021-08-31T18:37:59] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long

@NuclearMonster commented on GitHub (Sep 1, 2021): > I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully. I had this same issue, thanks for the workaround! My console log was a little different, there was a hint: `[2021-08-31T18:37:59] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long`

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:36 -06:00

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@reikolydia commented on GitHub (Jan 22, 2022):

Have the same issue, clearing clipboard on server sure did help.

The connections were initially successful, but i cannot move the mouse over to another client from the server as it would simply attempt to restart the process from both client and server and give that "string too long" error. i did not restart any client/server after clearing the clipboard however.

@reikolydia commented on GitHub (Jan 22, 2022): Have the same issue, clearing clipboard on server sure did help. The connections were initially successful, but i cannot move the mouse over to another client from the server as it would simply attempt to restart the process from both client and server and give that "string too long" error. i did not restart any client/server after clearing the clipboard however.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:37 -06:00

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@wesgurn commented on GitHub (Feb 22, 2022):

Can confirm the workaround of clearing the clipboard or copying some small text on the server side restores the client connection and fixes issue.

@wesgurn commented on GitHub (Feb 22, 2022): Can confirm the workaround of clearing the clipboard or copying some small text on the server side restores the client connection and fixes issue.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:39 -06:00

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@juanmartin commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2022):

In my case clearing Barrier on the server (Windows) logs helped 🤷
My client is mac.

@juanmartin commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2022): In my case clearing Barrier on the server (Windows) logs helped 🤷 My client is mac.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:41 -06:00

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@radieon commented on GitHub (Mar 29, 2023):

Copying some short text to my server's clipboard allowed me to connect to my clients after receiving this same error.

@radieon commented on GitHub (Mar 29, 2023): Copying some short text to my server's clipboard allowed me to connect to my clients after receiving this same error.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:42 -06:00

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@zhangineer2 commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2023):

copying short text to my server's clipboard solved the problem for me as well

@zhangineer2 commented on GitHub (Apr 25, 2023): copying short text to my server's clipboard solved the problem for me as well

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:43 -06:00

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@jandestiny commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2023):

Same solution for me: Copying a short text to the clipboard got barrier out of the "string too long" error loop. Weird bug.

@jandestiny commented on GitHub (Dec 11, 2023): Same solution for me: Copying a short text to the clipboard got barrier out of the "string too long" error loop. Weird bug.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:44 -06:00

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@pkxpp commented on GitHub (Feb 6, 2024):

This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below).
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2
I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully.

It works!Thanks so much.

@pkxpp commented on GitHub (Feb 6, 2024): > This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below). > > ``` > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32 > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3 > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long > [2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped > [2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2 > [2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user > [2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2 > ``` > > I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully. It works!Thanks so much.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:45 -06:00

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@smenendez19 commented on GitHub (Apr 16, 2024):

This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below).
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3
[2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped
[2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user
[2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2
I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully.

This works, thanks!

@smenendez19 commented on GitHub (Apr 16, 2024): > This just started happening to me, I believe I had an image in my clipboard that was somehow screwing it up (logs below). > > ``` > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: leaving screen > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: bitmap: 1046x-1096 32 > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] INFO: convert image from: depth=32 comp=3 > [2021-05-07T15:06:20] FATAL: An error occurred: string too long > [2021-05-07T15:06:21] ERROR: failed to launch, error: process immediately stopped > [2021-05-07T15:06:21] INFO: backing off, wait=4s, failures=2 > [2021-05-07T15:06:25] INFO: starting new process as privileged user > [2021-05-07T15:06:25] ERROR: failed to get desktop path, no drop target available, error=2 > ``` > > I spammed CTRL+C on some random text on my windows machine a few times to fully reset the clipboard, then restarted the server on my mac, and the server then started successfully. This works, thanks!

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 07:17:46 -06:00

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@FurmanSK commented on GitHub (Jul 25, 2024):

Yeah just came across this error. Saw it was converting an image and string too long error. Can we get an option to disable images in clipboard to be ignored? It doesn't even work anyways for me going from win10(server) to mac m2(client).

@FurmanSK commented on GitHub (Jul 25, 2024): Yeah just came across this error. Saw it was converting an image and string too long error. Can we get an option to disable images in clipboard to be ignored? It doesn't even work anyways for me going from win10(server) to mac m2(client).